When there’s tension around what your kids are eating, it adds stress to every meal. It doesn’t have to be that way. Changing your approach so that healthy eating is no longer a battle is worth the effort.
Recognizing Eating Issues
How do nutrition-smart parents raise kids who exist on mac and cheese, yogurt, goldfish crackers and chicken nuggets? Your nutritional knowledge can unintentionally help you justify feeding your children junk food. If you find yourself saying “well at least it has Vitamin C”, you’ve fallen into this trap!
Do you need to adjust your family’s eating habits to be healthier? These signs indicate a need to make some changes:
- You find yourself begging your kids to eat just two more bites.
- You battle with your kids over eating enough fruits and vegetables.
- Your children are overweight.
- Your children often aren’t hungry at meal time.
- You justify poor food choices with saying things like “at least it has protein”.
- Your children typically eat something other than what is being served for dinner.
- Meal time is filled with tension.
- When you eat at someone else’s house, you bring special food for your child.
If any of these signs resonate with you, it’s time to make some changes.
Establishing Healthy Eating Habits
Dr. Dina Rose discusses helping kids eat well in her book, It’s Not About the Broccoli: Three Habits to Teach Your Kids for a Lifetime of Healthy Eating. She focuses on teaching your kids healthy habits that will last their lifetime.
Picture Courtesy of Pinterest Search for Vegetable Recipes
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